I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland) in Aug 2022
Interview
I had a phone interview initially, followed by a whiteboard interview that involved assessing my understanding of APIs, but with a stronger focus on task organization and handling large requirements. Although I applied as a developer, it seemed like the company was interested in assessing my skills in organizing work effectively. During the interview, I had two interviewers, and unfortunately, one of them displayed an undesired attitude by yawning multiple times. Additionally, there was a lack of clear guidance regarding the task at hand. The interviewer simply stated that they wanted a particular implementation and asked me to organize and implement it while sharing my screen. This approach was unfamiliar to me, and I found it confusing. Consequently, I asked several questions throughout the interview to seek clarification. Interestingly, one of the interviewers demonstrated good technical knowledge, but the other did not inquire about any technical aspects. She or he clearly mentioned you do not need to implement all features in 1 hour but the feedback from the interview was that I did not implement all. Really? Overall, the interview process was subpar due to the absence of proper task explanation and the attitude of one of the interviewers.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Customer wants this. Organize the tasks and implement it
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026
Interview
It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good:
Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems
Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests
Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability
Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase.
Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (Sydney) in June 2025
Interview
There were 4 rounds.
1) Chat with internal recruiter to check your values, experience and aspirations.
2) Coding challenge: Test conducted on HackerRank. Not overly hard but wouldn't say its simple. The engineer overseeing the test (Cath) was a legend and made me feel at ease.
3) Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration Discussion: Chat with someone from a non-engineering team. Expect questions around your way of working, challenges you've faced and how you resolve conflicts.
4) Culture Fit & Team Interview: 2 senior/lead engineers check if you fit their teams. Expect questions about your technical background, your exposure to the technologies these teams use and challenges you've face.
Even though I didn't get the job I walked away having learned a lot and the feedback provided by the internal recruiter (Raisa) was very detailed and will help me in my future endeavours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function that takes in 2 string. Return true or false if a condition is met.